About Bees

Bees are among the most complex organisms which can be discovered in the world. They were producing structures before man ever did. They have a huge population (where most have their needs fulfilled ) of about 70,000 bees before man produced a tribe. Even today, it might be argued that bee culture is better organized than human culture.

Like us bees are also social creatures. They can’t live alone. A bee with no hive is a dead bee. Within the hive, they have specialized tasks. There is not any bee without one. Even drones, which can be specialized for just 1 task, will take up other tasks, like cooling the hive, if necessary. They realize that their survival depends upon the existence of the colony. A colony of bees consists of one queen, hundreds of drones and tens of thousands of workers.

Men didn’t christen the queen gently. She’s the most important member of a hive. Her survival ensures the longevity of the colony. Her purpose is simple; she lays the eggs of their future generation. She’s the only one capable of that. The huge quantities of worker bees are infertile. She only needs to mate once. Or rather, she only needs one mating period. She is able to mate with several drones in that time. Her breeding period lasts only for a few days. After mating with up to 15 drones, she’ll keep their sperm inside of her. Every now then she’ll release it in order to fertilize her eggs. A vigorous queen can lay up to two thousand new eggs a day. Most queens live for two to three decades. But some have been recorded to live for up to 7 years.

The Worker. The worker bee is the all-important foundation of the hive. Without them, the colony will fall apart. They do the majority of the tasks in the colony. All day the humble worker goes to seal the honey, feed the drones, raise young bees and bees, attend the queen, build honeycombs, store pollen, propolize, eliminate dead ants and larvae, cool the hive, guard, carry water and forage. They don’t do these tasks simultaneously, naturally. Workers mature in 21 days and live for around six weeks. For every age in their lifetime, they are tasked with specific jobs. For example, guarding the colony is done by the oldest and biggest workers.

The Drone. The poor male bee. Unlike the queen and the employee they are hatched from unfertilized eggs. Drones have it tough. They are only raised when the colony’s resources can support them. When times are tough and food is scarce, the workers drive the drones away because they are only useful for one thing, to mate with the queen.